The Nobel Prize is an annual, international prize first awarded in 1901 for achievements in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace, with an associated prize in Economics awarded since 1969."Nobel Prize" (2007), in Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 14 November 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: As of November 2022, Nobel Prizes had been awarded to 954 individuals, of whom 17 were black recipients (1.7% of the 954 individual recipients).
Black people have received awards in three of the six award categories: twelve in Peace (70.6% of the black recipients), four in Literature (23.5%), and one in Economics (5.9%). The first black recipient, Ralph Bunche, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. W. Arthur Lewis became the first black recipient of a Nobel Prize in one of the sciences when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1979. The most recent black laureate, Abdulrazak Gurnah, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021.
Among the black Nobel laureates, three served as heads of state or government of their respective countries upon receiving the Nobel Prize, while one was awarded the prize before taking office. Those include Barack Obama of the United States and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, who were presidents, along with Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, who was prime minister; all of them were awarded the Peace Prize. In addition, Nelson Mandela of South Africa became a Nobel Peace laureate before being elected president.
Literature Four black people have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Year Image Laureate Country Comment 1986 First black man to win the Nobel Prize for Literature 1992 1993 First black woman to win a Nobel Prize 2021 Gurnah moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s as a refugee following the Zanzibar Revolution
Peace 12 black people have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Year Image Laureate Country Comment 1950 First black person to win a Nobel Prize, PBS. 1960 First black African to win a Nobel Prize 1964 Youngest African American to win a Nobel Prize, at age 35 1984 1993 2001 2004 First environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize 2009 2011 2011 2018 Denis Mukwege 2019 Abiy Ahmed
Economics One black person has been awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
Year Image Laureate Country Comment 1979 First black person to win a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; first West Indian to win a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
See also List of Nobel laureates List of African Nobel laureates List of Asian Nobel laureates List of Latino and Hispanic Nobel laureates List of Christian Nobel laureates List of Jewish Nobel laureates
References
External links Nelson Mandela Interview